YUGOSLAV EVENTS CHRONOLOGY SEPT.-DEC. 1997 Sept. 1 - Crowd of 300 Serbs gather near Udrigovo transmitter, throw stones at US pks, UN says Serbs bussed in; US troops fire tear gas at crowd which has grown to 250; France warns Serbs that more attacks on NATO forces will be met with force; Milo. again calls for early elections in RS; Mass grave w/ up to 300 bodies of murdered Muslims found near Bihac; Croatian auth. arrest Miro Bajramovic who claims to have killed 72 Serbs in Gospic, Pakrac areas during war; Bajramovic says he was part of special police unit ordered to carry out 'ethnic cleansing'; UN troops begin turning over monitoring positions to UN police forces Sept. 2 - Nearly 300 Amer. pks give up transmitter near Tuzla to Kara. forces after Serbs agree to moderate their propaganda about Dayton; US Def. Dept. announces it is beginning to ship mob-control weapons to BH including non-lethal concussion and dye grenades to deter crowds, ringleaders; Milo. candidate for Serbian presidency, Zoran Lilic, calls Plavsic "not serious and even irresponsible", condemns NATO for backing her; Croatian police arrest war crimes suspects Munib Suljic, Igor Mikula, and Nebojsa Hodak in Zagreb; Train runs between E. Sla. city of Osijek and Hungarian city of Pecs by way of Beli Manastir for first time since '91; Slovenia announces that its citizens and those of Italy to be able to cross common border with only identity cards as of Sept. 8 Sept. 3 - NATO Gen. Wesley Clark warns Serbs that pks prepared to use Alethal means to protect themselves from mob violence, declines to comment on whether NATO is preparing mission to capture Kara.; Switzerland says Kara. has no bank accounts there; US State Dept. says SFOR will retake TV transmitters if Serbs break agreement; bomb goes off near Sara. Catholic Church; Westendorp tells Milo. that Bos. local elections will go ahead, Milo. later tells Kraj., Klickovic, and Kalinic not to boycott the elections; Zagreb District Court begins proceedings against 4 war crimes suspects; bomb explodes near post office in Vukovar; Police station attacked near Pristina, no one claims responsibility Sept. 4 - Feral Tribune runs interview w/ Croat Miro Bajramovic who claims he killed 72 Serbs in Gospic in 91 while under command of Tomislav Mercep who denies charges of being responsible for murders of 280 Serbs in area; Former Int. Min. Ivan Vekic denies charges also, calling Bajramovic a liar; Croatia-Israel est. diplomatic relations; Gen. Clark tells Milo., Chief of Yugo. army Gen. Staff Perisic that SFOR has right to use force if necessary, Milo. denies that Yugo. special police participated in recent Bos. Serb violence; US transfers 6 F-16's to Italy to support elections Sept. 5 - Bajramovic, 3 others detained, Zagreb court orders broad investigation into claims of murders of Serbs in Gospic, Pakrac areas; Gelbard says local elections in Bos. to go ahead even if Serbs boycott them, calls on Euro. allies to get tough w/ Milo., insist he stop backing hard-liners; Sept. 8 - Kraj., Kijac, Klickovic and Bos. Serb Parl. speaker Dragan Kalinic forced to take refuge in Hotel Bosna in BL after rally against Plavsic fails; 30 Norwegian pks fall back from mob of 1,000 Serbs in Derventa after they throw gasoline on pk vehicles, British pks at Derventa halt 20 buses of Kara. supporters (NATO contends they are being paid) trying to get to rally at which only 150 show; 5 Plavsic police hurt at checkpoint incidents; most buses turned back at US checkpoint at Modrica (e. of BL), crowd of 1,000 hurl stones at US forces Sept. 9 - Plavsic police surround Hotel Bosna in BL where Kara. supporters including Kraj., Klickovic, and Kijac are holed up, NATO troops disarm, take identity cards from dozens of Kara. special police who leave hotel, 72 of these taken to NATO base to be checked against war crimes indictments (1st time NATO has taken this action) while Kraj., Kijac refuse NATO offers of rescue fearing secret indictment of Kijac and flee from crowd which is chanting thieves , throwing eggs and rocks, and jumping on their car; Klickovic forced to run back into hotel; Kara. supporters in Pale now call for postponement of local elections; Klein comments that there were openly armed Kara. supporters around BL, calls them Arent-a-thugs who were paid 100 marks for attending, says its time to get them under control; US State Dept. again warns Serbs that SFOR will retake TV transmitter unless accord followed; Bos. HDZ, Zubak call on Croats to boycott elections, say they are biased towards Muslims, so does leader of Serbian Democratic Party in Pale; Serb police arrest 9 in Kosovo calling them members of a Agang carrying out Aterrorist activities; Mac. Pres. Gligorov says he wants pks to stay to help Mac. overcome poverty and social problems Sept. 10 - Kraj. heads to Bel. to fill Milo. in on collapsed SDS rally; about 600 Serbs in Brcko hold rally, explained by SFOR as a protest for their not getting promised 400 marks for attending rally in BL; Plavsic accuses Kara. of fomenting attempted coup against her; EU diplomats tell Croatian FM Granic that rels. w/ EU will be negatively affected if HDZ boycotts vote in Bosnia, but Granic says Croatia does not control HDZ; Yugo. constitutional court overrules Mon. law allowing only one candidate from each party to be nominated Sept. 11 - Westendorp, Shinseki send letter to Kraj. demanding Serbs share Udrigovo TV transmitter w/ SFOR broadcasts and opp. programs by next day or it will be determined Serbs have failed to honor Sept. 2 agreement which Gelbard says they have not followed since first day and will be followed by SFOR action; letter says Serb broadcasts have been in persistent and blatant contradiction of both the spirit and letter of the peace agreement; Gelbard says there are two options: jamming, and having transmitter shut down altogether; US Air Force sends 3 planes to jam TV broadcasts to Brindisi, Italy to deal w/ inflammatory media thats deemed to endanger the safety of troops; Frowick says Bos. Croat leaders have decided not to boycott elections after he, Klein, and Westendorp meet w/ Tudj., Zubak; Djukanovic tells Dem. Socialist Party convention that his election will affirm Montenegrins determination to defend their autonomy from Bel.; Serbian police in Cacak beat 2 anti-Milo. protestors who have to be taken to the hospital; Police stations in 5 Kosovo towns attacked during night Sept. 12 - Krajisnik attends first meeting of Bos. presidency in 2 months after Westendorp tells him he will forfeit his seat on presidency if he continues boycott; Serbian Info. Min. Radmila Milentijevic says in Wash. that Bel. will not extradite Kara., that if US wants him it will have to go get him Sept. 13 - Pale leadership decides to take part in elections after OSCE promises that indicted war criminals will not be arrested when they appear in public to vote, and that municipal admins. will be formed by parties that receive the most votes, not by proportional representation; Mon. Republican Electoral Commission decides to register Bulatovic as candidate of DPS Sept. 14 - OSCE says 60% participate in Bosnian voting; most refugees do not return home to vote but instead use absentee ballots; Joint List candidate for mayor in Tuzla defeats incumbent mayor and member of Party for Dem. Action; Serbian police report that 2 more police stations attacked in Kosovo by assailants w/ auto. weapons, hand grenades Sept. 15 - EU For. Mins. in Brussels vote to deny entry visas to Krajisnik, Bosnian co-Premier Boro Bosic, Min. of Comm. Spasoje Albijanic, and Dep. PM Gavro Bogic to punish Serbs for holding up signing of agreements involving all 3 nationalities, Westendorp calls on EU to consider giving aid to Plavsic to bolster her position; US threatens sanctions against all those who fail to respect outcome of elections; RS FM Aleksa Buha says in Belgrade that Plavsic and intl. elections organizers conspired to prevent 70,000 Serbs in Bos., 65,000 refs. in Yugo. from voting, that Mus., Croat refs. should not have been allowed to vote for town councils in areas under Serb control; Croatian anf Yugo. Fms sign 6 agreements on transportation, border regions, social insurance, and legal aid; Police, demonstrators battle for several hours in Kragujevac Sept. 16 - Frowick, claiming safety of Amer., other foreign election observers, overrules OSCE judicial decision that SDS be retroactively barred from last weeks elections due to the party no disassociating itself from Kara., lead judge Justice Finn Lynghjem of Norway says he might quit panel in protest; 19 elec. supervisors withdrawn at Aaccelerated pace from Pale; Kosovo Liberation Army claims responsibility for recent series of attacks, that several Serb policemen killed in attacks which Bel. denies Sept. 17 - UN helicopter crashes into side of mountain near Prokosko (c. Bos.) killing 11 including 5 Americans, German envoy Gerd Wagner (dep. to Westendorp) and Bri. diplomat Charles Morpeth Sept. 18 - Car bomb explosion near joint Mus.-Croat police station on Croat side of Mostar injures 30, possibly due to Croat announcement that they would unify 3 Croat districts against previous agreement Sept. 21 - Plavsic police take control of town of Prnjavor Sept. 23 - Serbian Statistical Office puts election turnout at 62%; Dras. says he will not resign from leadership and that his party will not support any candidate in 2nd round; SFOR fights w/ several hundred Bos. Serbs on roads to Doboj w/ protestors throwing Molotov cocktails and stones; Plavsic police take control of Prijedor while SFOR puts up checkpoints around Prnjavor (Doboj now western-most town controlled by pro-Kara. forces); Pale TV says Mus. refs. returning to settle in Doboj suburb of Majljenovac contrary to signed agreement, says SFOR and UNHCR conniving w/ Mus. to repair 150 houses during daylight hours while Mus. spend nights across inter-ethnic boundary line in Tesanj; Croatian govt. finally gives approval to transit of 10 T-55 tanks (donated by Egypt to Bos. govt.) from docks at Ploce; Croatia, Turkey to open talks on creating free trade zone Sept. 24 - Gelbard warns Croatian FM Granic that if it doesnt arrest Bosnian Croat war crimes suspects that intl. community will do so, and that AIm holding back the tide of bloodthirsty western Europeans from going after you; Granic says US pressure completely unnecessary and unjustified; Plavsic, Kraj. meet w/ Milo. in Bel., agree to hold parl. elections on 15 Nov. under OSCE supervision w/ elections for Plavsics, Krajs jobs on 7 December, agree to divide air time on state TV; NATO agrees to delay beginning of SFOR withdrawal; Contact Group agrees to impose sanctions against any side not upholding Dayton Accords; Croats in Mostar area agree to joint investigation w/ Mus-Croat fed. officials of car bomb explosion on 18 Sept. Final election results in Serbia give Milo. left-wing alliance 110 seats, Seseljs Serbian Radical Party 81, and Draskovics party 46, while Vojojdina Coalition, Union of Vojvojdina Hungarians each to get 4 seats, List for Sandzak 3, and Presevo-Bujanovac Coalition and Democratic Alternative 1 each (250 seats total); Serbian Renewal Movement says it will try to recall Djindjic as mayor of Bel.; 300 Serbian police w/ APCs and helicopters harass, beat dozens of ethnic Albanians in 4 villages in central Kosovo after reports of attack on police patrol near Glina Sept. 25 - Serbian govt. announces that Lilic got 35.7% to Seseljs 27.28%, and Draskovics 20.64% in presidential elections requiring runoff between Lilic and Seselj; Serbian police attempt to break up promenade by ethnic Albanians in Pristina by directing traffice through downtown area, police beat 2 students Sept. 26 - Bos. Serb Nikola Jorgic sentenced in Germany to life in prison for genocide, murder, kidnapping, assault in Bosnian villages of Grapska ans Sevarlije in 92 (trial held there at request of IWCT, Jorgic lived in Germany for 23 years and was arrested there) Sept. 27 - Plavsic postpones parl. elections until 23 November for technical reasons, says on Bos. Serb TV that Kara. withdrew 49 million Deutschmarks from BL banks last year, also says SFOR is not an occupier, it protects our borders, repairs our houses and schools, and defends peace; SDS in Pale denies her accusations that SDS and HDZ conspired to exchange territory between them; Pro-Plavsic but independent newspaper Alternativa bombed for second time in week in Doboj; Klickovic says on Mon. TV that arresting Kara. would lead to a complete collapse of the Dayton Agreement and new conflicts in BH, that Serbs wont give him up and that Kara. has done nothing wrong other than defend his people Sept. 28 - 1,000 ethnic Albanians protest in Pristina, Mitrovica, Pec, Prizren, and Gnjilane against education conditions, for return of school buildings Sept. 29 - Bos. Serb speaker of Bosnian govt. parliament says Plavsic has violated Sept. 24 agreement by postponing elections by 8 days, says this could contribute to a renewed flare up of emotions; Kraj. meets w/ Milo. in Bel., decide to extend Yugo. citizenship to all Bos. Serbs who apply without their losing Bos. citizenship Sept. 30 - Bel. riot police attack thousands of demonstrators protesting ouster of Djindjic as mayor and editors of ind. Studio-B TV channel; Milo. invites all 3 members of Bos. presidency to Bel. through Kraj. Oct. 1 - Riot police w/ armored vehicles, water cannon disperse 3,000 students protesting lack of Albanian language education in Pristina, 30 students hospitalized; later in day 7,000 students stage silent protest in Pristina; police used force to break up similar demonstrations in Pec, Prizren, Gnjilane, Mitrovica, Urosevac, Decani, Djakovica, students call off further demonstrations but US, EU jointly condemn use of force against protestors; Rugova condemns police actions but calls for ending protests so situation wont be aggravated; Bel. says Serbia will never allow the existence of a separate Albanian state of Kos. w/ a separate educ. system and univ.; Second peaceful demonstration (about 10,000, only half size of previous crowd) broken up in Bel. by riot police w/ some arrests and injuries, Djindjic calls for more protests on Oct. 4 Croatia reintegrates its judiciary into E. Slavonia; SFOR seizes Bos. Serb transmitters on Mt. Trebevic (near Sara.), Leota (near Nevesinje), Duga Njiva and Udrigova (n. Bos.) after Westendorp makes request to do so on Sept. 30; Westendorp says TV broadcasts from Pale may still be allowed while Solana says Plavsics people will control the transmitters; Plavsic says seizure justified but calls for alternating broadcasts; Kraj. wanrs of uncontrollable response from Bos. Serb public; Rus. Def. Min. Sergeev denies that Rus. troops took part in seizure of transmitters as claimed by Gen. Wesley Clark, but that they were only observers; Joint List 97 led by Mayor Selim Beslagic, wins majority of seats in Tuzla from Sept. 13-14 elections Oct. 2 - Russian Foreign Ministry says there was no serious justification for seizure of TV transmitters, US State Dept. rejects this saying action was in compliance w/ foreign ministers meeting in Portugal in May at which Russia was present; US Def. Sec. Cohen says there will be more action against Bos. Serbs beyond seizures of television transmitter stations if they dont comply w/ Dayton Accords, says Wash., allies have made no final decision on replacing SFOR next June although there is agreement that withdrawal should be gradual; Senior NATO officials quoted in New York Times as believing that Muslim govt. forces in Bosnia stockpililing arms beyond Dayton Accords for preemptive strike against Serbs when NATO withdraws, and that Croatian military doing same as means to grab western Bosnia; comment seen as means to exert pressure on critics of keeping troops in Bosnia beyond June; Exhumation of bodies at mass grave at Hrgar (nw. Bos.) concludes, 87 bodies found mostly Muslims; OSCE announces that Izets SDA maintained control of 3 of 4 Sara. constituencies, Muslims win vote in Serb-controlled, formerly multi-ethnic town of Kotor Varos, while refs. give victory to Serb opposition coalition in Mus-controlled Bosanski Petrovac; Bosnian branch of HDZ challenges results in Bosanski Broad where Serbs win 24 town council seats to Cro-Mus. coalitions 21; Lilic says on radio that ethnic Albanians in Kos. cannot attend schools in Serbia that use curricula drawn up in Tirana, nor can they open up universities; also comments that Serbs, Montenegrins will never be a nat. minority in Kos., and no new republics will be added from Serbia; University students say they will resume protests by mid-Oct. unless Serb auth. put into effect 96 educ. agreement between Milo., Rugova Oct. 3 - US State Dept. denies that Bosniaks covertly arming for renewed offensive, while RFE reports that NATO intelligence now denies report NYT; Izet. also denies report of secret arming of Mus. forces; Oct. 5 - US envoy Robert Gelbard meets in Pale w/ Kraj., says western powers have serious reservations about pres. elections scheduled in RS for early Dec. since vote will come too soon after RS legislative elections on Nov. 23; Gelbard also explains NATO seizure of TV transmitters by saying that intl. community had put up with enough and could not let the situation recur, Kraj. says he wants matter to end peacefully, but Radio B-92 says he condemns seizure as unjustifiable; Serbian Electoral Commission declares run-off vote invalid due to low turnout (48% turnout); new elections to be held in 60 days; Seselj had 49% to Lilics 48%; Former Zajedno leader Vesna Pesic says opp. suffered by its collapse, considering forming a broader coalition; Djindjic calls for more street protests as part of new offensive Bulatovic gets 47.45% of votes against Djukanovics 46.72% requiring a runoff (turnout 67%) Oct. 6 - 10 Bos. Croats wanted for war crimes leave Split for Hague, Gelbard who negotiated their surrender present and calls this significant step forward; Ploce municipal council rejects draft agreement on use of towns port drawn up by US arbitration commission allowing for Bosnian use of port; council rejects it due to the fear of losing Cro. sovereignty and identity in Neretva River valley and Ploce itself; Gelbard meets earlier in day w/ Milo. in Bel., and Djindjic and Pesic, and vice-presidents of Dem. Alliance of Kos. Hidajet Hiseni and Fehmi Agani, Serbian and Kosovan student leaders; Pesic says that Kosovo is part of Serbia and solution to crisis must be found within Yugo. framework, says that Gelbard confirmed that US holds to no more fragmentation and disintegration of states; Bos. Serb army holds first military exercises since Dayton agreement signed near Bijeljina; EU to open offices in Pristina, denounces use of force by Serbian police on Oct. 1; Arben Xhaferri, leader of Dem. Party of Albanians in Macedonia quoted as saying AAlbanians from Mac. will, in the event of war in Kos., fight together w/ the people of Kosovo; 2 explosions near Def. Ministry in Ljubljana Oct. 7 - Westendorp lays out conditions to Kraj. for Pale to resume broadcasting, including restructuring of SRT, politicians withdrawing from board of directors, and surrendering their control of the station, Westendorp spokesman says this will eventually include BL also; RS Int. Min. Slavko Poleksic (loyal to Pale) holds talks w/ IPTF in Pale, comments that reorganization of police along IPTF lines will require much time and money; Canadian SFOR troops deployed to guard w. Bos. village of Martin Brod (near Drvar) after Bos. Croats attack homes of Serb refs. after 27 try to return, Croatian official hits Can. soldier w/ car and is physically restrained by other troops; UN Sec. Gen. Annan says conditions not in place for Croatia to take over E. Sla., that Croatia has failed in confidence-building and reconciliation efforts but could still comply before 15 Jan.; Dem. Party of Serbs in Macedonia says they will help Kosovar Serbs if situation deteriorates, and Awill not allow any foul play from the Albanians from Macedonia Oct. 8 - 200 Plavsic police blocked by 100 Kara. police in village of Tromejda in early morning, 50 from each side remain by morning prompting NATO to deploy pks at checkpoints between them, hard- liners accuse Plavsic police of trying to take over more police stations; SFOR erects barbed wire around Martin Brod, bar access to all but Drvar police while local officials, UNHCR in Drvar agree to guarantee security of living in village; SFOR lifts bans on movement and training of troops of BH and HDZ after Mus.-Croat fed. confirms there are no more prisoners of war in Fed.; Pale police prevent Plavsic forces from seizing Int. Min. facilities in Bijeljina, Derventa, Teslic, and Bosanski Brod after being informed by someone in BL Public Sec. Ctr.; New mines apparently laid in Jajce area with 7 casualties in recent weeks Draskovic says he is ready to run in new round of elections; 10 Bos. Croats plead not-guilty at Hague Oct. 9 - UN IPTF says Bos. Croat police in Mostar have withheld evidence about Sept. 18 bomb blast and that it cannot certify investigation into the bombing; Drvar police superintendant accuses SFOR of breaking accord by not taking down barricades around Martin Brod and preventing food from getting in; Public Sec. Ctr. in BL accuses Pale police of creating incident near Derventa to take advantage of mil. maneuvers and lead assault on pro-Plavsic forces; SDS claims it has won majority of municipalities in recent local elec.; Djindjic says he no longer wants to be in pres. elec., that there is a campaign by official media to discredit him; Pesic calls for joint candidate of opp.; US Def. Dept. authorizes withdrawal of 150 of 500 US pks in Mac. after UN downsizes total force from 1,050 to 750 soldiers Oct. 10 - IMF release $80 mil. tranche for Croatia of $486 mil. 3-year loan after US expresses satisfaction w/ Croatian decision to send 10 indicted suspects to Hague; Kosovo talks reach impasse Oct. 11 - RS PM Klickovic says his govt. rejects unreasonable demands to fire directors of Pale Radio and TV, hopes for negotiated settlement; Ger. DM Ruhe calls for SFOR to be replaced by smaller deterrence force of DFOR in June 98 while Kinkel says pks must have clear mandate after that point to catch war criminals; Tudj. tells Council of Europe in Strasbourg that Cro. has excellent record of implementing Dayton Accords and is actively cooperating w/ Hague Oct. 12 - Land mine detonated at Sara. Catholic school, Mus. extremists thought to be responsible; Council of Europe tells Tudj. that it is pleased w/ progress in E. Sla. but concerned about the extent of govt. control over radio, TV throughout the country Oct. 13 - US proposes that Croatia lease part of Ploce port to Bos. for 30 years; Plavsic, Krajisnik meet in Bel. w/ Milo., agree on Nov. 23 parliamentary election date; Kraj. also notes that pres. elections to be held on Dec. 7; Westendorp spokesman says SFOR pks will not return 4 TV relay stations to Pale TV since Serbs have refused to fire directors of Serb TV; Intl. communitys chief administrator for Brcko orders Muslims, Croats, to be included in towns police force to be headed by Serb w/ Mus., Croat deputies, local Serb officials call this drastic; Sara. authorities announce $30,000 reward for info. on presumed Muslim terrorist group that has been attacking Catholic institutions; New Archbishop of Zagreb, Josip Bozanic, says Catholic Church Adoes not wish to be close either to the govt. or to the governing party in continuing policy of previous Cardinal Kuharic; Feral Tribune reports that Tudj. agreed w/ Belgrade in 91 on partition of Bosnia between them; Oct. 14 - Croatian, Bosnian negotiations in Zagreb fail over use of port of Ploce after Croatia rejects US proposal, and Bosnia continues to deny Croatia transit rights throug Bosnias fishing village of Neum; Mostar brancy of HDZ rejects results of Sept. local elections calling it Aabsurd that HDZ received majority of votes but minority of seats on city council; US special envoy James Pardew says in interview that Bos. Serb army still stronger than Federation forces despite recent reports otherwise due to the fact that Serbs remain an extension of the Yugo. army; Rus. gas giant Gazprom says it may suspend deliveries to Yugo. unless it pays at least part of the $250 million it owes to Gazprom; Serb police in Kosovo say AAlbanian separatists launched attack on police station near Pec; Slovenia wins rotating seat for Eastern Europe on UN Security Council over Macedonia Oct. 15 - US signs agreement w/ Plavsic to provide $1 mil. for restoring roads, railroads, houses in RS area w/ work to begin immediately on bridge in BL; Plavsic says recent agreement on elections w/ Kraj. did not cover presidential election; UN says Kara. has special bodyguard at his home in contravention to Dayton accords, while US Asst. Sec. of State John Shattuck says arrest of Kara. Avery likely and soon; UN rules that Serbs in E. Sla. may fly Serbian flag at official functions if they want to; Serbian police reported to have carried out raids, mistreated 100 Albanians in 3 ethnic Alb. villages near Djakovica Oct. 16 - Pale resumes broadcasting, renews criticisms of NATO by calling seizure of transmitters impostion of democracy by the most brutal methods, Krajisnik cals it a denial of the basic right of freedom of press; Kraj. says in Bel. that 'without pres. elections there can be no parl. elect.'; Patriarch Pavle, 60 Serbian, Bos. Serb intellectuals sign declaration in Bel. claiming that Kara., Mladic are victims of western anti-Serb sentiments; Mon. police arrest 11 men from Belgrade, Novi Sad, say they were sent by Serbian authorities to carry out unspecified tasks prior to Mon. elec., that they had connections on them to Bulatovic campaign; Mon. Supreme Ct. asked to add names of 9,000 to voter registration lists prior to upcoming election; 1 person reportedly killed in attack on police station in Klicina (Kos.) Oct. 18 - US State Dept. calls on Bel. to end violence in Kosovo, resume dialogue Oct. 19 - Djukanovic beats Bulatovic in Mon. presidential election by at least 6,000 votes, although victory narrower than expected, US State Dept. calls this 'hopeful sign' for improvement in bilateral relations; Special US airplanes used for first time to jam Pale TV, broadcast messages to Bos. Serbs that NATO has taken Pale TV off the air for its anti-Dayton broadcasts Oct. 20 - Mon. Electoral Commission announces that PM Djukanovic wins over Bulatovic by 6,000 votes (72% turnout), Belgrade calls vote 'a farce' while Bulatovic says he will challenge the results on basis of irregularities; Rugova in Pristina calls for talks w/ Bel. authorities on Kosovo but only with participation of US and EU which Bel. rejects; UN Sec. Coun. calls on Croatia to implement obligations on return of refs. to E. Sla. Oct. 21 - Mon. State Election Commission announces Djukanovic won elec. by 5,600 votes while Bulatovic supporters now claiming fraud, call for daily protests until results overturned; Bel. announces that new stage of presidential elections to be held on Dec. 7, opp. says it won't take part unless given guarantees of equal access to media, Albanians say they will boycott unless one of the parties takes a stand on Kosovo they can support; Croatian, Yugo. railways agree in Zag. on new services between them beginning on Nov. 11; Westendorp says rampant corruption undermining Bos. peace process while Bos. co-PM Silajdzic calls on NATO to use force to implement Dayton accords; Russia announces it is beginning to withdraw 500 of its 700 paratroopers based in E. Sla. Oct. 22 - Bulatovic rally draws 5,000 in Podgorica, speakers calls for arms for themselves and backers of Milo., blame election on Atraitors and Muslims, Bulatovic calls for new elections as soon as possible; Djindjic and Dem. Party of Serbia leader Vojislav Kostunica say their groups wont take part in Dec. elections; Election Commission begins registration of candidates to last through Nov. 17; Kosovo student leaders announce to for. delegations that they will resume demonstrations on Oct. 29; NATO announces it will send 1,000 additional SFOR troops to Bos. to ensure order during Nov. Bos. Serb elections; UN police confiscate illegal weapons from Serb police station in Brcko; World Bank says Mus.-Croat fed. law on privatization will help attract foreign investment Oct. 23 - Mon. police close Albanian village of Tuzi to supporters of Bulatovic who later calls off protests saying he will try to have Djukanovics victory overturned by institutional means; Mon. Information Dept. sends letter to Serbian counterpart stating that it will take Aappropriate legal measures if Belgrade media doesnt stop Aunobjective and tendentious reporting about Djukanovic; Milos United Left Coalition announces For. Min. Milan Milutinovic to stand for party in upcoming election; Former LCY leader Stipe Suvar announces formation of new Socialist Workers Party of Croatia (SRPH); US names William Dale Montgomery to replace Peter Galbraith as amb. to Croatia; Croatian govt. reports that 2,197 are still officially listed as missing from 91 war with most suspected of being buried in Serb- held areas; Head of Karas Serbian Dem. Party and hard-liner Aleksa Buha to head SDS list in upcoming parl. elections Oct. 24 - Zoran Todorovic, sec. of United Yugo. Left (JUL, Mirjana Markovics party) shot to death outside his office at Beopetrol (countrys 2nd largest oil firm), JUL calls it an attempt to destabilize our country Oct. 25 - Constitutional Court rejects appeal by Bulatovic for rendering election invalid; Djindjic calls for Milo. opposition to unite including Plavsic and Djukanovic; Klein says it may be necessary to Alock up in the National Museum leaders of 3 Bosnian communities to get them to agree on principles of running the country; Plavsic spokesmen announce that hard-line Dep. Int. Min. Dragomir Jovicic resigned his post and defected to Plavsic side after he was prevented from arresting Kara. aide on smuggling charges Oct. 26 - Bulatovic supporters call for mass meetings around Mon.; Yugo. PM Radoje Kontic states that Yugo. reintegration into intl. pol. and eco. structures moving too slowly, that pol. problems including failure to resolve Kosovo issue to blame, but also says intl. community judging Yugo. by tougher standards than it does other countries; 6 regional, minority parties from Serbia unite as League of Democratic Parties; Tudj. states that Croatia has vital interests in Bosnia and will protect them including strategic interests Oct. 27 - Mon. Pres.-elect Djukanovic tells Der Spiegel that Yugo. fed. govt. largely responsible for its own isolation, says Bel. hasnt promoted democratization in Kosovo and has failed to coop. w/ Hague Tribunal, but that Mon. will remain part of Yugo. unless authoritarianism continues to rise in Yugo. or Yugo. continues its pattern of isolationist behavior; UN police report bomb damaging Serbian Orthodox church building in Brcko; sniper kills ethnic Croat, wounds 2 more near Mus-held Travnik Oct. 28 - Westendorp again warns that intl. community growing impatient with Bosnian deadlock while EU commissioner van den Broeck says new restrictions may be imposed based on Dayton Accords; US shipment of 100 155mm howitzers arrives at Ploce for Bos. army; Bomb explodes at hq of Seseljs Serbian Radical Party office in Bijeljina; Mus. Nat. Council of Sandzak accuses Bulatovic of outright hatred and hostility towards Muslims and blaming them for Bulatovics loss in election; Croatian Helsinki Committee says Tudj. has made blatantly racist coments at youth org. meeting of HDZ by referring to genetically programmed internal and external enemies of the Croatian state Oct. 29 - Appeals Chamber of Intl. Criminal Tribunal for former Yugo. rules that tribunal has no right to injunctions threatening sanctions against either a state or one of its officials (Susak-Croat case), but instead must ask UN Sec. Coun. to do so if it feels that either one is not cooperating with it; US State Dept. says Croat-Mus. Fed. must first destroy 100 older pieces of artillery before it may receive new weapons under Train and Equip program as regards quotas in Dayton Accords, also condemns growing number of incidents targetting Bos. Croats and their institutions after Croat man is killed near Travnik (Int. Min. arrests 3 in case); OSCE says in letter to Croatian Mostar TV and Radio Livno that it must publicly apologize for having failed to meet even the minimally acceptable standards for accurate, complete, fair, equitable, and unbiased broadcasting, requests that Mostar TV anchormen read statement on air that we deliberately wanted to divide the peoples of Bosnia and spread national hatred; Anchorman for station refuses saying to do so would provide evidence against at war crimes tribunal; SFOR arrests 7 Ukrainians in Mostar for smuggling cigarettes and alcohol; Karas wife Liljana says NATO pks have begun following her, calls this an invasion of privacy; 15,000 ethnic Albanian students demonstrate in Pristina w/ no incidents, disperse after police tell them to do so, but warn they may abandon peaceful protests if their demands for Albanian- language educ. denied to them; Serb police in Pristina force their way into ind. Alb.-lang. daily Koha Ditore offices, demand id papers from editor, 2 US diplomats visiting the paper; Con. Ct. of Montenegro dismisses 5 more complaints filed by Bulatovic over validity of elections; 10,000 of his backers in Bijelo Polje demand the legislature declare elections invalid Oct. 30 - Westendorp threatens that unless Kraj. becomes more coop. on joint agreements he will fire him, saying Aif Kraj. doesnt deliver then I will say bye-bye Mr. Krajisnik; Power deliveries to Croatia, Slovenia suspended as Bosnia comes up short in electricity supplies; Student leaders in Kosovo charge that Serb police beat 16 students in Pec the previous day; Slovenian Con. Ct. rules that Kucan can run for 3rd term Oct. 31 - Plavsic says she wont run for reelection if hard- liners win parliamentary elections, also comments that Serbs should be able to participate in ATrain and Equip program; BL TV broadcasts restored to air after SFOR repairs transmitter in E. Bos. which hard-liners damaged to prevent Plavsic from airing news; Rus. renews gas deliveries to Bos. after 7 months Nov. 1 - Head of Bos. Agency for State Reserves, Mirsad Kurtovic, says Westendorp wrong in accusing Croats, Muslims of redirecting tax and aid money to agency that were supposed to be dismantled under Dayton; Army commander Gen. Rasim Delic says he wants 35,000 recruits to be trained by ATrain and Equip and they should come from all ethnic communities (this after speculation in press that mixed marriage recruits would be dismissed from military as disloyal) Podgorica ct. says 11 Belgrade men to remain in custody while being investigated for disrupting presidential vote Nov. 2 - Serbian Renewal Movement names Draskovic as presidential candidate for Dec. 7 elec. while Serbian Radical Party officially nominates Seselj; Key legislators in Israel say they will introduce legislation to ban trip by Tudj. if he comes to Israel due to his previous claim that Holocaust did not take place; Mac. Pres. Gligorov, Bulgarian PM Ivan Kostov, meeting at Balkan summit on Crete, fail to reach agreement on ratification of 20 bilateral agreements including Bulgarias contention that Macedonian is not a language distinct from Bulgarian, thus refusing to ratify documents in both languages Nov. 3 - Milo. meets w/ Albanian PM Fatos Nano for first time in 50 years on Crete, Milo. states that 2 didnt agree on Kos. Since Serbia considers this an internal affair, also says that he recognizes his responsibilities in implementing Dayton but that the 3 warring sides in Bos. have special responsibility (meeting included heads of state or govt. of Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Yugo., but not Croatia and Slovenia who contend they are C. European, not Balkan states); Kosovo student Nait Hasani, says he was tortured by Serb police who claim he is a leader of Kos. Liberation Army; Police in Mus.-controlled Travnik area free 3 men held for killing Croat man, wounding 2 others in August; Tudj. says he has recommended to parl. a constitutional ban on Croatia becoming a member of any revival of Yugo. or other Balkan union, that Croatia should be explicitly defined as Central European; also wants constitution changed to stipulate equal rights for all, not just Croatian citizens, but also that ACroatia is established as the nat. state of the Croatian people and a state of members of nat. minorities and those who are its citizens Nov. 4 - Clinton meets w/ congressional leaders on Bosnia, spokesman Mike McCurry indicates that administration wants to keep troops there longer to protect gains but that the issue hasnt been decided yet; Slovenia become 37th state to send troops to intl. pk force in Bos. Nov. 5 - Albright announces that Clinton, 35 congressional leaders are arriving at consensus on keeping US pks in Bosnia in some form past June98 deadline, but that formal decision not reached on how many troops would remain, German FM Kinkel says that the Americans have to be in on this in relation to continued NATO-led presence in Bosnia Nov. 9 - 2 Mus. men killed, 2 more assaulted near former front line at Jelovo Brdo in Tuzla area, police want to question Serb policeman Milan Becarevic; Turkey signs agreement w/ Bos. to give $1 million to reconstruct Mostar bridge, Hungarian engineers already putting it back together; Serb parents prevent children from attending 18 of 22 primary, secondary schools in E. Sla. in protest over introduction of Croatian texts; Cro. Edu. Min. Liljana Vokic meets w/ Serb reps., agrees teachers can use Cyrillic alphabet in teaching and that 5-yr. moratorium on teaching history of former Yugo. since 1990 will be respected; Tudj. puts off trip to Israel; Slobodan Novak, pres. of Cro. PEN club, professor at Zag. Univ. loses job, charges he is fired due to criticism of Tudj.; Yugo. rep. at talks on former Yugo., Kosta Mihajlovic, says FRY did not wage war on Croatia or Bosnia and will not pay reparations to them; Kos. parl. leader Adem Demaci says in Pristina that passive resistance has failed, calls for joint org. of all Kos. pol. parties to launch active citizens resistance Nov. 10 - Izet. rejects Croatia offer of closer pol., eco. ties saying this would compromise sovereignty; SFOR takes control of elite police base controlled by hard-liners in Doboj, confiscate weapons, and dissolve the unit; Canada announces gift of $70,000 to help train pro-Plavsic police; EU Fms in Brussels say progress toward democracy in Bos. extremely slow esp. in Bos. Serb areas, says Bel., Zag. have not facilitated return of refs., and that only Mac. has made progress in protecting human and minority rights Nov. 11 - Plavsic says she wants Bos. Serb army to be part of US Train and Equip program w/ no preconditions to membership, says RS cannot isolate itself; Cro. leader Zubak says Muslims do not have the right to decide for entire country on rejection of Tudj. proposal, says he will put proposal on agenda of next collective presidency session; Bos. Educ. Min. says Croat, Muslim students to use same textbooks which stress that Bos. is multi-ethnic state; Hundreds of women from Sreb. march through Sara. demanding intl. comm. provide more info. about missing 8,000 men, demand release of 3 Muslim men held prisoners by Serbs; Local trains begin running between Croatia, Serbia for first time since 91 Nov. 12 - US says Bos. Serb forces ineligible to take part in Train and Equip since RS leadership has not shown itself sufficiently committed to Dayton; Sara. magazine Dani says Mus. warlord Musan Caco Topalovic murdered dozens of civilians just because they were Serbs, that auth. knew of this prior to his being killed in 93; Police in Nis charge woman w/ slandering Milo. for calling him thief and conman in public; Upper house of Cro. parl. approves Tudj. package of constitutional amendments including prohibition against Croatia unifying w/ other states or reforming Yugo.; Opp. deps. in Slovenian parl. want to introduce bill preventing former communists from holding office (which would include Kucan, PM Drnovsek), Kucan rejects this saying those who commited crimes under old system are already known Nov. 13 - 2 gunmen attack Plavsics party offices causing extensive damage; Mus. refs. near Tuzla stone UN bus carrying Serb visitors from Serb-held areas into Mus-controlled terr., 2 Serb men, 1 Mus. woman injured (3rd attack by local Muslims against Serb visitors this year); Izet. advisor calls for Serbs to be included in Train and Equip program, says this would be first step to creating joint army amd possible membership in NATOs Partnership for Peace program; Belgrade charges Slobodan Misic w/ war crimes after he tells Serb media he killed 80 Bos. civilians during war; Zag. ct. sentences Mario Maler, Bos. Croat, to 1 and a half years in prison for mistreating Croatian prisoners when a guard in Serb-run Stara Gradiska camp in 92; Italian FM Dini tells Croatian FM Granic that Italy will support Croatian entry into Eur. institutions but that Rome expects Zag. to institute European standards and behavior on human rights; Slovenia announces that criminal legislation to be changed so that journalists no longer to be prosecuted for revealing state, army secrets if their intent is to expose wrong-doing Nov. 14 - Croatian Helsinki Comm. says leaflets appearing in Vukovar threatening local Serbs; Seselj says in Leskovac that he will never recognize Croatia in its current boundaries, that Serbian western boundary should follow line of Karlobag-Ogulin- Karlovac-Virovitica; Serbian Elec. Comm. says there will be 18 candidates on pres. ballot; Ibrahim Rugova says Serb police have increased harassment of ethnic Albanians in past month including those who are politically active Nov. 15 - Ital. pks fire warning shots to turn back crowd of several hundred Serbs at Mt. Trebevic (near Sara.) TV transmitter site where they were trying to cut barbed wire surrounding facility; Westendorp calls for Bos. Serbs to stop plans to privatize 300 enterprises by distributing shares to local residents since Mus., Croats are not included, says plan will lead to large-scale fraud; Explosion hit house of Serb in Vukovar; series of armed robberies reported in E. Sla. area mainly by Serbs against Croats Nov. 16 - 2 hand grenades explode at school in Vukovar Nov. 17 - Pale-based Serb parl. (which Plavsic had dissolved in summer) votes to condemn NATO pks who they say are almost an occupation force, says intl. comm. trying to revise Dayton to limit ind. of RS; car bomb destroyes car of editor of hard-line paper Glas Srpski in BL; Bos. Serb army (VRS) chief-of-staff Gen. Pero Colic says in Bel. that VRS is connected w/ the armies of Fed. Yugo. and Rus., so we will not and must not make a single move without them, says participation in Train and Equip would lead to disintegration and disaster for VRS; Croatian and Mus. officials find 30 bodies near Sreb. while Serb officials exhume 18 uniformed Serbs in Mt. Ozren region (Mus.-controlled near Sara.); Bomb explodes in elementary school in Orolik, Croatia; Fin. Min. Borislav Skegro says Croatia to spend less on def., refugees, and police in 98, more on science, culture, agriculture, and infrastructure w/ budget to be 8.5% larger than 97 budget; Kucan shown to be leading pres. polls prior to elections Nov. 18 - Croatian Radio Vukovar back on air for first time since 91 while UN spokesman says peaceful reintegration of E. Sla. into Croatia well under way; World Bank approves $30 mil. loan to Croatia to promote financial reform, develop private sector; BL airport reopens after 4 years; project financed by Bri., US development aid, to be jointly run by Bos. civil aviation authority of Mus., Croats, Serbs; Kraj., on Serb TV in Bel., calls Plavsic traitor who is working to recreate multi-ethnic Bos.; Camil Gashi, ethnic Albanian who heads local branch of Milos Socialist Party in Glogovac, Kosovo, killed by gunmen Nov. 19 - Plavsic, in meeting w/ UN high commissioner for refs., Sadako Ogata, says refs. welcome to return; OSCE mission head Frowick says he expects no problems w/ elections; EU spokes man in Sara. says it will spend $1.4 mil. on elections including paying for 600 short- term monitors, 134 longer-term personnel; OSCE mission in Zag. says successful reintegration of E. Sla. will depend on Croatia observing agreements allowing local residents free movement between Cro., Serbia; Sulejman Ugljanin says List for Sandzak coalition in Novi Pazar will field own candidate in Serbian presidential elec. implicitly denying support for united opp. candidate; 13 parties, NGOs, other orgs. set up Kosovo Dem. Forum in Pristina but Rugovas Dem. League of Kos. does not join; Mac. border guard wounded in shoot-out with intruders from Albania (second incident in several days; over 100 for the entire year) Nov. 20 - Los Angeles Times reports that Mus. authorities may have diverted millions of dollars to illegal agencies including Iranian- trained spy network, calls it systematic and almost routine; Guardian reports that charity org. Medjugorje Appeal sent troop carriers, hand- cuffs, other mil. or police equipment to Bos. Croat militia during war; OSCE tells SDS must take down posters of Kara. prior to elections, but SDS officials say they have nothing to do with them since they have name of Serbian National Society on them; Izet, Zubak urge their constituents to vote in upcoming RS elections w/ Izet. saying voters should help those candidates who advocate an integral and dem. Bos. Milo., Albanian PM Fatos Nano agree to est. full diplomatic rels. Nov. 21 - Lower house of Croatian parl. approves Tudj. amendments to constitution; Cro. For. Min. calls on UN to maintain police in E. Sla. until full integration on Jan. 15, says Zag. fears possible incidents and provocations and attempts to blame the Cro. side for such unacceptable acts; Soros org. criticizes Zag. court decision on conviction of 2 OSI employees for tax fraud saying Cro. has distinguished itself as the first state in the former comm. world to criminalize the work of our foundations and that there is a systematic campaign to drive ind. orgs. out of Croatia Nov. 22 - OSCE says no major incidents mar voting in RS area; Croatian dock worker union officials say workers in Ploce, Split, Zadar, Sibenik, and Rijeka will strike if govt. leases port of Ploce to Bos. for 30 years as this would violate Cro. sovereignty Nov. 23 - Slovenian voters re-elect Kucan to 2nd 5-year term w/ 55% of vote in field of 8 candidates, says he will work to bring Slo. into Eur. institutions including EU and NATO Nov. 24 - Vote counting shows SDS ahead w/ 31% to Plavsics Serbian Peoples League at 21% and Serbian Radical Party (Seselj) w/ 16%; Westendorp says Bos. making progress, will not need an intl. protectorate, but calls for removal from power of those opposed to Dayton Accords; Mon. Pres-elect Djukanovic says Milo. behaved incorrectly and irresponsibly in interfering in Mon. politics; Leader of new Kos. Dem. Forum says if Rugovs party does not join in 15 days it will be considered a rival political force; Kos. Liberation Army claims responsibility for Nov. 19 killing of Alb. member of Milos party; UN Geneva office launches campaign to raise $406 mil. for humanitarian projects in former Yugo. w/ $263 mil. for BH, $44.6 mil. for Cro.,$44.5 mil. for Yugo., $3.4 mil. for Mac., and $49.3 mil. for regional projects Nov. 25 - Westendorp warns that if pk mandate not extended beyond June war, the killings, and ethnic cleansing will come back. It will take at least 2 to 3 more years before we no longer need the troops; OSCE says RS voting fell far short of normal dem. standards; EU pledges $7.5 mil. for reconstruction of Sara. city hall, other buildings including Technical High School, Olympic stadium; Cro. auth. in Mostar prevent Mus.-organized Bridges of Friendship marathon race in their part of city, UN calls this purely political; hand grenade explodes under EU vehicle in Serb- held Trebinje; US condemns Cro. govt. position on Soros Foundation calling it unacceptable; Yugo. govt. prevents up to 50 citizens of Mus. or Alb. identity from entering country at Bel. airport, some for as long as a week Nov. 28 - 3 masked, armed, and uniformed members of UCK appear at funeral of many killed in clash w/ police, appeal for support as the only org. doing anything to free Kosovo; 4 killed, 6 injured in previous weeks demonstrations, clashes; Milo., FM Milan Milutinovic say on TV that Kos. is Serbias internal affair, reject foreign intervention after Rugova, in Brussels, calls on EU for mediation Nov. 29 - Izet. says he will not run for 2nd term and will leave politics by Sept. 98, denies that his govt. covered up war crimes evidence by Muslims Nov. 30 - Social Democrat-led coalition sweeps elections in Primorsko-Goranska County (Rijeka) Dec. 1 - Law enforcement officials in E. Sla. begin wearing Croatian police uniforms; EBRD to grant $18 mil. loan to Bos. to help rebuild power grid, work to be carried out in all 3 regions Dec. 2 - Vjesnik reports that 4,050 Serbs have returned to their homes in Karlovac County since end of fighting; Mus., Croat negotiators in Sara. agree on return of 120,000 refs. to 156 villages in C. Bos.; UN police investigating reported attacks by Mus. extremists, for. mercenaries on Croats in recent weeks; Yugo. FM Milutinovic says in Pec that AKos. is the Jerusalem of all Serbs, who will never be a minority in their own country...Kos. is our land and will not be the subject of bargaining w/ anybody; Seselj says he thinks there will be vote rigging in upcoming elec., that there are 500,000 more names on voting list than there ought to be; WEU parl. assembly calls for new pk force for Bos. beyond SFOR mandate of June 98 Dec. 3 - Rus. grants Yugo. $150 mil. credit to buy Rus. goods, Yugo. PM Kontic in Moscow says Yugo. interested in buying advanced Rus. weapons and spare parts; NATO offiicals say Rus. DM Sergeev agreed w/ them that a continued mil. presence needed in Bos. and Rus. wants to be part of it; Former US amb. to Bel. Warren Zimmerman urges his govt. to keep troops there past June to prevent new fighting; Croatia tries 9 Croatian men w/ murder attempted murder, related crimes in relation to torture, deaths of dozens of Serbs in Pakracka Poljana in 91; Yugo. side in Yugo.-Mac. border commission pushes for territory changes favorable to Bel. at 3 strategic points Dec. 4 - UCK members claim that crash of Yugo. airlines trainer near Pristina airport on Nov. 26 was result of their shooting it down; Plavsic travels to Sara. for first time since 92, calls on Ger. FM Kinkel, French FM Hubert Vedrine for patience in implementing Dayton accords while these ministers urge Plavsic, joint presidency to quickly remove obstacles to realization of treaty, say intl. community will punish any side causing obstructions; UN confirms that Bos. police recently arrested 40 persons in Zenica area crackdown on Islamic extremists responsible for attacks on Croats; UN Sec. Coun. votes to extend UNPREDEP mandate through Aug. 98 and end mission at that time (first force in UN history for purpose of preventing conflict spreading rather than separating warring sides); Mac., Albania sign 6 agreements in Tirana aimed at strengthening sec. along common border Dec. 18 - Dutch NATO forces flown in specially arrest 2 Bos. Croat war crimes suspects near Vitez, Vlatko Kupreskic who is wounded in gunbattle after he fires to escape capture and Anto Furundzija; Kupreskic wanted for massacre of Mus. civilians in Ahmici and other villages in Lasva Valley in 93; Solana says this should stand as a warning to all other indicted war criminals; Clinton says that US troops to stay beyond June withdrawal deadline to provide a safety net and a helping hand to Bos., that Bos almost certainly will fall back into violence, chaos and war every bit as violent if troops leave before stability achieved, says NATO plan must have concrete benchmarks to allow troops to withdraw, but that stability is the job of the Bosnians themselves